Is this helloween?...yes, I used to love those two albums. Are they still going?....I need to dust off those old albums and give them a spin. I know, My age is showing.

Yes! It is Helloween! Michael Kiske was fired in December 1993. Andi Deris replaced him. The best CD in the Deris era is Better Than Raw. For harmoney solos done correctly, tension/release production, and perfect arrangements, check this cd out! Vocally, Deris is no Kiske, but he has his own sound. When you listen to the Deris-era Helloween, try and forget about the previous Kiske-era. It is like listening to Bon Scott AC/DC and Brian Johnson AC/DC or the two Van Halen eras.

Nobody can reach the high stratosphere like Michael Kiske. Btw, his favorite singer is Freddie Mercury. Both singers of Helloween claim that.

Better than Raw has two great singles, I Can and Hey Lord. The whole disc is great. Maybe because I am a musician it sounds even better. The lyrics are great too. They even have a song in Latin. This was done because the guitarist Michael Weikath is a devout Catholic (poor guy). He wanted to put a Christian song in but put it in Latin so we are not turned off. Pretty clever,eh? That song has an excellent harmony solo! For fans of Brian May's harmony guitar sound, they would hear appreciation of the solos in Helloween songs. They even do it better than Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden.

Michael Kiske has become a fanatical and been out of metal for a few years but you can't hide the magic of Keeper of the 7 Keys, Part I and II. I was lucky to catch the MTV Headbangers Ball Tour of 1989 with Anthrax, Helloween, and Exodus.

Is this helloween?...yes, I used to love those two albums. Are they still going?....I need to dust off those old albums and give them a spin. I know, My age is showing.

Your profile says you like Judas Priest. Are you a big fan? I have a genuine leather wrist band from the Painkiller tour! Rob actually dropped them out of his pocket! He left separately from the band after the show in Brussles on the Painkiller tour. Now we know why! Before he got into his Mercedes sedan with driver, he dropped two studded wrist bands. I took one and my friend took the other.

Pantera opened up the show. I had a 30 minute conversation with Diamond Darrell after the show while I was waiting for Rob Halford. It was easy at the time 'cause nobody knew of them! Phil Anselmo had two girls, 1 on each arm. They didn't even speak English! Ah, to be young, dumb, and having fun!

Is this helloween?...yes, I used to love those two albums. Are they still going?....I need to dust off those old albums and give them a spin. I know, My age is showing.

Your profile says you like Judas Priest. Are you a big fan? I have a genuine leather wrist band from the Painkiller tour! Rob actually dropped them out of his pocket! He left separately from the band after the show in Brussles on the Painkiller tour. Now we know why! Before he got into his Mercedes sedan with driver, he dropped two studded wrist bands. I took one and my friend took the other.

Pantera opened up the show. I had a 30 minute conversation with Diamond Darrell after the show while I was waiting for Rob Halford. It was easy at the time 'cause nobody knew of them! Phil Anselmo had two girls, 1 on each arm. They didn't even speak English! Ah, to be young, dumb, and having fun!

Priest is my second favorite band behind queen. That pantera show must have been awsome. I also seen priest twice on the painkiller tour. The first was better, megadeath, testament opened for them. The second show alice cooper opened for priest and he put on a great show. I'm also not surprised the 2 singers for helloween was influenced by freddie. I think almost every great singer was.

Is this helloween?...yes, I used to love those two albums. Are they still going?....I need to dust off those old albums and give them a spin. I know, My age is showing.

Your profile says you like Judas Priest. Are you a big fan? I have a genuine leather wrist band from the Painkiller tour! Rob actually dropped them out of his pocket! He left separately from the band after the show in Brussles on the Painkiller tour. Now we know why! Before he got into his Mercedes sedan with driver, he dropped two studded wrist bands. I took one and my friend took the other.

Pantera opened up the show. I had a 30 minute conversation with Diamond Darrell after the show while I was waiting for Rob Halford. It was easy at the time 'cause nobody knew of them! Phil Anselmo had two girls, 1 on each arm. They didn't even speak English! Ah, to be young, dumb, and having fun!

Priest is my second favorite band behind queen. That pantera show must have been awsome. I also seen priest twice on the painkiller tour. The first was better, megadeath, testament opened for them. The second show alice cooper opened for priest and he put on a great show. I'm also not surprised the 2 singers for helloween was influenced by freddie. I think almost every great singer was.

The only thing I remember about the Pantera show was being in front row general admission and being crushed and Phil jumping up and down with no underwear. He was really big like Freddie. ;-)(I suppose somebody will start that topic. "Who is bigger? Freddie or Phil Anselmo?) The JP show was my first bootleg I recorded. I didn't use a microphone because I didn't know any better at the time.

Mike, you must have really loved the Vh1 Rock Honors with both Queen and JP.

I think the Painkiller album is the best one. I haven't heard every JP album but that is what I think. What is your opinion?

I just saw Megadeth open for Heaven and Hell. What a great band they are afer all these years. And Ronnie Dio, who was born in 1942, is still going strong. Did you know his first single came out in 1958? There is a website chronicaling that. He is old enough to collect social security! He is 65! This shows us that Freddie could have been still singing with us. I think Ronnie Dio will die on stage!

who was bigger phil or fred?...freddie was actually a pretty small guy. phil is a boxer, so If I was in a fight I would choose phil to be on my side. Pantera was good, but I like his other band (down) just as much. Check out down's Nola CD. My favorite priest album is sad wings of destiny and stained class, both are classic. Painkiller was a great comeback album, the way Innuendo was for Queen. The Vh1 rocker honors was great. They both performed great, but I'm not the priest fanatic I once was. I still look forward to their next CD.